This invention is directed to an apparatus and method of transporting food products to a loading head and more specifically to an apparatus that processes a product without scrambling or losing its initial orientation.
Producing sausages, hot dogs, and the like via a co-extrusion system creates a tremendous volume of product per hour. Conveyor systems have been used in the past to transport food product from a cooling conveyor to a loading head. Problems exist with these current systems; for example, the product orientation is lost or scrambled. The product must be re-oriented which requires additional machinery. Also, damages to the product can occur in this process. By handling the product real time, process parameters can be maintained more closely. Also, packaging machinery requires time out of production for maintenance and replacement of spools of packaging film which affects volume. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an apparatus and method that addresses these problems.
An objective of the invention is to provide an apparatus and method of transporting food product to a loading head from a cooling conveyor that is faster and more reliable.
Another objective of the invention is to provide an apparatus and method of transporting food product to a loading head where food product is separated into more than one lane.
A still further objective of this invention is to provide an apparatus and method that reduces the occurrence of shingles when transporting food product.
These and other objectives will be apparent to one skilled in the art based on the following disclosure.